Page 24 of Mortal Desires

“Ready to go back?” I drawled.

My voice scared her, but I was used to that. You can’t look like a nightmare and expect anything but fear.

She sat up and flashed me a look before saying, “I won’t stay if he’s around.”

“If you don’t, you better say goodbye to your friend Penny.”

She gulped, her eyes cast down, and for the first time, I saw indecision. She weighed her love for Penny against her fear of her father.

Her eyes were full of tears when she looked back at me. “If you want me, you can’t do this.”

“Want you?” I chuckled, standing up.

She followed my lead. “You want me for one reason or another.”

“I want you to pay for what you have done.”

“So you want me.” She forced the issue. “If I’m yours, you’ll have to take care of me.”

“Witch,” I shook my head. “You’re confused about what type of marriage we will have.”

“If he ends me, there’s nothing for you to torture,” she spat.

Her words finally reached me. Yes, I disliked Adrian, but I never thought his end game was to kill her. Just slowly dry her all of her magic.

“He won’t—”

“He wants power,” she said, looking down at her own hands. “If he wanted it before, imagine now when I’m the queen of the underworld.”

“You won’t be—”

“Maybe you don’t understand what kind of marriage we will have, dear husband,” she mocked, her eyes full of fury. “Whatever horrible reasons you want me here, and I’m sure if today’s display is anything to go by, it’s going to be torture for me. But when we are wed, we’ll be wed. I’ll be your wife. I’ll be the queen for everyone out there.”

“You won’t have any rights to the underworld.” I reminded her of her place.

“They don’t know that.” She pointed at the door, and I followed the movement.

I hated accepting her reasoning. Humans never followed logical thoughts. It didn’t matter if Pilar’s only power was to see ghosts and in a place everyone saw them, she was nothing but a human. I saw that clearly but what about the rest of them?

She was still a Morales, a member of the most powerful coven in history. She wasn’t dead so their bond was still intact. And now, I was giving her a crown.

I nodded, agreeing with someone for the first time in my existence. “Very well. I won’t let Adrian come near you again. I’ll assign a Brumas to follow—”

“They freak me out,” she said, turning her face and averting her gaze.

It was almost comical. To think this is the woman I hated, the one I planned to torture, was this small and scared.

“The Brumas are loyal to me. I don’t trust anyone else.”

“In your kingdom?” She arched an eyebrow.

“Don’t ever trust anyone, little witch.”

“Alright. I’ll have a Brumas. And I want you to keep your nefarious plans to yourself.”

“This is not a negotiation.”

“Penny doesn’t know what’s happening and I'd like to keep it that way. Soon, we’ll need to tell my sisters I am here.”

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